REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAYAPURA -- A Vietnamese skipper and 11 crew members who were nabbed while fishing illegally in Misool waters in Raja Ampat district, West Papua, have been accused of violating the fisheries law of Indonesia.

The skipper and crew members of KM Thank Cong 99612 GT 55 were caught when they were fishing in Misool waters, West Papua regional police chief Brigadier General Paulus Waterpauw told Antara here on Monday.

"KM Thank Cong will be sunk by way of perforating it instead of shooting to make it into an artificial reef," he added.

Waterpauw noted the ship was intercepted by the marine police patrolling in West Papua waters on January 19.

The police were almost deceived as the vessel had an Indonesian red-white flag.

As the police approached the vessel, it became clear that the crew was catching sharks for their fins, the police chief revealed.

If convicted of violating articles in the country's fisheries law, the Vietnamese fishermen will face a jail sentence of up to eight years and a fine of up to Rp1.5 billion each.

While the Vietnamese skipper has been identified as Nguyen Trong Nhan, or Captain Nam (44), the crew members are Nguyen Than Minh (43), Vo Van Tranh (44), Nguyen Van Hung (46), Le Thanh Tam (45), Pham Van Long (42), Nguyen Ngo Tai (42), Le Thanh Vu (33), Tran Van Hai (38), Troung Van Chien (37), Nguyen Van Lam (38), and Tran Van Hoang (45).

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